Wednesday, 28 May 2008

the daring bakers go to the opera...


... well sort of. we were baking an opera cake. quite a fancy little challenge we were doing this month. but a nice one. with loads of buttercream to make, with a soft cake, a chocolate mousse and a decent ganache to top it all.


when i talk about "us" and when i say "we" i am talking about a big bunch of crazy & fun bakers all around the globe who bake something fancy, nice or just simply delicious once a month. it's for fun, you know. but it comes with rules...

... rules like: you are not allowed to use any vanilla. or: you must follow the original recipe. or: you are not allowed to skip the bavarian cream. or: you are not allowed to use any brown flavouring like chocolate or coffee this time.
you know i am swiss. we have loads of rules. for everything. i know what it means when you break the rules. not fun. not at all. better not do it.

but i had to. i was stuck in the kitchen with 700g of white chocolate. not that i dont like it but it's just something i never work with. i just think the brown stuff is the real mccoy - so white chocolate is something i haven't even thought about using in my kitchen.
pah - i better had! such a simple humble thing as melting the white chocolate was - lets be honest here, my girls - a pain in the ass! IT JUST WOULDNT MELT! no. melting. at. all. then it did, but only for about a nanosecond and then it turned into a clump and before it burned and it was ready for a decent little swearword (when the rest of the cake was so much fun to make!).
so me and the white chocolate = no good friends. not gonna happen.
so i had to break the rules and use the brown stuff instead. if you know us swiss, you know it breaks our hearts and no we dont think this way you will make it to heaven and yes i am ready for a week of kitchenduty.
although... let me think: i did make it to heaven anyway. the cake is so soft and delicously sweet... the white buttercream with vanilla... the choclate mousse in between and the generous amout of almost kinky ganache - when you eat that, that's what it must feel like going to heaven.


this month's challenge was hosted by the lovely fran of apple peaces pumpkin pie and shea of whiskful. to check out a recipe of the opera cake, visit out our queen bees blog tartelette.
Posted by at 01:01
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31 comments:

  1. An opera cake, eh?? Looks so luscious!
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  3. Good use of your "natural resource". Im all about keeping food local, etc. ;-) Great job.
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  4. Yummy looking caske. It may be the brand of white chocolate that you used that caused all the headaches - when I used Cadbury Dream, it didn't melt properly, but when I switched to cooking white chocolate, all was fine (although it melts yellow - eww!).
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  5. I would like to try this recipe again using the real McCoy. Im not much for white chocolate either. Your cake looks so good!
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  6. Sometimes rules are made to be...bent a bit. In a sea of white and light, your chocolate opera stands tall and proud. Great job!
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  7. I have a feeling you weren't using the 'Real McCoy' of white chocolate. It usually melts so easily and does not exhibit any of the symptoms you describe unless you got some water in it...
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  8. Your opera looks just lovely!! I too wanted to break the rules but decided to just go with the flow. But I did make a REAL opera a few days later though!!! I agree though, there is only one kind of chocolate and white choc doesnt count!! :)
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  9. I know the rules were for white chocolate, but the real chocolate looks much more appealing to me. Lovely garnish!
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  10. tisk tisk for breaking the rules but I admit it looks wonderful.
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  11. Oh you're such a bad girl. I love the pansies on the dark chocolate - wow!
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  12. I love your cake, even tho' it's not "light in color"!

    Eileen (passions to pastry)
    www.livingtastefully.com
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  13. You crazy rule breaker you!!!! :)

    I agree white chocolate isn't even chocolate...is it?

    Beautiful decoration as well!
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  14. ehi darling as italian we denied all rules so I'm going to justify you.
    as DB member I had the same problem with white choc and I solved it...a miracle...take a look.
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  15. You rebel! Looks delicious!!
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  16. i love the brown stuff, too. looks delicious!
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  17. Ahhh, that white chocolate is so disobedient and naughty. But hey! Chocolate's chocolate. It's still yummylicious!
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  18. I'm not a big fan of white "chocolate" either, but I keep some around, just in case.
    Stop thinking of it as chocolate and it will probably work better next time ;)

    j
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  19. Your opera cake looks good!
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  20. I was about to write off opera cakes from my list until I saw yours... now I have to try it with real chocolate! Thank you for saving Opera cakes the undeserved turn of the shoulder from me, it's all thanks to you. :)

    Now all I have to do is find some amazing swiss chocolate to make it with!
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  21. I must admit, its a relief to hear I wasn't the only one with troublesome white chocolate! You should see what happens to it when you add food colouring! Well done, your cake looks gorgeous!
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  22. Your cake looks gorgeous! Very well done!

    Cheers,

    Rosa
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  23. White chocolate can be so tricky to melt! Some sorts just WON'T, others are really easy. Your cake looks delicious!
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  24. Yum. I'll have to try this opera cake with the real mccoy chocolate too. Looks delicious!
    Shari@Whisk: a food blog
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  25. Actually you are tempting me to try this again using real chocolate in mine instead of the white stuff. Looks yummy.
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  26. Vous avez raison. Le chocolat blanc est une douleur à l'arrière. J'étais assez chanceux pour avoir sur l'accident pour ne pas lire les directions jusque trop à tard. J'ai décidé que j'étais heureux je pourrais être encouragé à faire le l'Opera, et je l'ai juste appelé un bye. Bien fait. Votre gâteau semble délicieux.
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  27. My white chocolate melted just fine, but it was overwhelmingly sweet. Next time I'll definitely have to try it with the traditional flavors!
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  28. Mutiny on board - I like! Great job and I'm not a fan of white chocolate as well.
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  29. I wouldn´t mind to break the rules also, if i could have a slice of that yummi cake of yours. Lovely.
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  30. Some white chocolates are such a royal pain - I'm not a big white chocolate fan and let's face it - it's not even chocolate. That must offend Swiss sensibilities altogether. In spite of your breaking rules, the cake is beautiful.
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  31. ahhh, I know what you mean about w.chocolate not melting nicely - I had that problem when i first melted that stuff. - Now i have a proper melting equipment to do it v.slowly!
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